Stolen Songs: Side Effect vs. The Strokes

hi, Chris.
I’m the singer/songwriter/guitarist of Side Effect from Myanmar. I don’t know how you were led to us while you were googling The Strokes.
I am really sad that we are on this stolen songs thing. Yes, the strokes changed our visions on music. You know what, you can’t buy the strokes albums in stores in Burma. Anyway, we’ve been listening to The strokes a lot. Then, when we recorded that song, my second guitarist, Jozeff K, played that part that way unintentionally. Actually, i wrote that song inspired by Babyshamble’s There She Goes, you know. But, we knew that we had to accept that we got some influences by the bands we love rather than trying to change or to be different intentionally.
In Myanmar, almost all songs are cover songs. The most famous “rocker” got their fame by covering Scorpion, Cinderella, Metallica, Bon Jovi etc., with all broken hearted lyrics. We call them “copy-songs”. Just a few people knew original artists. Plus, they even covered teenage pop band like “Hanson”.
So, i am really sorry if we pissed you off by being too-much-influenced by your favorite band. But i don’t feel guilty at all for I know i didn’t steal it. I denied to change it when we realized that was a lot similar to New York City Cops’ pre-chorus. In my opinion, an artist must accept what is inside of him or her.
By the way, thank you very much for your concern. We didn’t think someone would really give a damn about us.
Please listen to other songs @ http://www.soundcloud.com/5ide3ffect
PS, here no bands have their “style” at all. They play lots of different stuff. We tried to find our style but not pushing ourselves too much. Pay attention to the song called “ye wai wai” which means “evenings under the influence ” and let me know what you think of it.
Best,
Darko
darkosidefx@gmail.com